The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors having electrical contacts that engage corresponding mating contacts during a mating operation with another electrical connector.
Electrical connectors are used to transmit data and/or power in various industries. The electrical connectors are often configured to repeatedly engage and disengage complementary electrical connectors. The process of mating the electrical connectors may be referred to as a mating operation. Each mating operation may cause a small amount of wear to the electrical connectors. For example, in a backplane communication system, a backplane circuit board has a header connector that is configured to mate with a receptacle connector. The receptacle connector is typically mounted to a daughter card. The header connector includes an array of electrical contacts (hereinafter referred to as “header contacts”), and the receptacle connector includes a complementary array of electrical contacts (hereinafter referred to as “receptacle contacts”). During the mating operation, the receptacle contacts mechanically engage and slide along the corresponding header contacts. The sliding engagement between the receptacle and header contacts may be referred to as wiping, because each receptacle contact wipes along an exterior surface of the corresponding header contact. At this time, adhesion between the receptacle contact and the corresponding header contact may remove surface materials from the corresponding header contact as the receptacle contact wipes the header contact.
In many cases, the header contacts are disposed within a connector cavity of the header connector that is sized and shaped to receive the receptacle connector. The connector cavity opens to an exterior of the header connector thereby exposing the header contacts to an ambient environment. Certain environmental conditions in the ambient environment, such as humidity, may increase the likelihood of corrosion developing on the exterior surfaces of the header contacts. The portions of the header contacts that are closest to the cavity opening are more exposed to the ambient environment and may be at greater risk for developing corrosion.
Corrosion can negatively affect performance of an electrical connector. For example, each of the receptacle contacts is configured to engage the corresponding header contact at a final contact area when the receptacle and header connectors are fully mated and in operation. However, as the receptacle contact wipes the header contact during the mating operation, the receptacle contact may push or plow the corrosive matter toward the final contact area. Corrosive matter at the final contact area may cause an unstable electrical connection between the receptacle contact and the header contact, which can negatively affect signal transmission through the mated connectors.
Accordingly, a need remains for electrical contacts and electrical connectors that reduce an amount of corrosive matter at the final contact area.